Emma's Wound
by casharris
Summary: Based on a prompt in which Emma is poisoned with dreamshade, instead of Charming.
1. Chapter 1

He'd been waiting for this moment since the end of the fight with the lost boys, when he saw her cringe and clutch at her side, before hiding her pain from everyone, including him. While he admired her strength, he knew it could also be her weakness, and was glad to have finally caught her by herself. "Lass are you alright?" He almost cringed at the amount of concern in his voice; he was afraid she would hear it and realise how deep it ran, but she refused to hear it.  
"Yes I'm fine, let me past." Hook moved into her path, refusing to let her go.  
"No, not until you show me your wound." She looked at him with shock in her eyes until he explained, "I saw you get hit by that arrow love. Show me." She glared at him for a few moments, and their eyes were locked. Both of them defiant, both determined, but only one set of eyes looked at the other with love, whilst the other looked in fear. Finally she gave in, her own concern set on edge by his.  
"Fine. But you can't tell my parents, they can't be distracted from finding Henry. Promise?"  
"Yes, just show me."  
"I need your word, Hook"  
He looked her dead in the eye, "Swan, I am a man of my word, if I promise not to tell your parents, I will do no such thing".

After a moment of contemplation she nodded and raised her shirt. The arrow had but grazed the side of her rib cage, but the poison was spreading quickly, distorting her veins and making them visible to the naked eye. She studied has face as he looked closer, as he struggled to remain impassive. "How long?"  
"Not long enough. You need to tell your parents, lass. They deserve to know."  
"No, Henry is more important, can't you see that?" As she pulled her shirt down and stormed away, he watched her leave and whispered "No, no I can't, love".

Keeping this promise was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. Pretending that she was okay, that everything would be alright, that watching her die wasn't one of the most painful things he'd ever been through was as much torture for him as he was sure the poison was for her. He knew there was a cure, but he knew the price one had to pay for it, and he wasn't sure he could do that to her, her family, or.. to himself.

"Emma, I need to talk to you"  
"Yeah,"  
"Not here, come with me"

"Okay". He could see she was hesitant but that didn't matter. They'd been walking a while before he turned towards her. "Emma, you have to tell your parents!"  
"This again? No! They can't know! Mary Margaret.. I'm not sure she could handle it, and what's most important here is my son, and getting him home safely!"

"Emma! At this rate you are going to die here, on this cursed island, before you get a chance to _see_ your son again, let alone rescue him and take him back to Storybrooke."  
"Well that's the best I've got, Hook, and if that's what it takes to save him, then that's what I'll do" she said as she turned to walk away.

"No, Emma wait! I may know of a device we could use to get home, once Henry's been saved."  
"What?! Why didn't you tell me before?! When Tinkerbell first mentioned it?!"  
"Getting it will be no easy task love, and I'm not sure you'll survive the journey."  
"I don't care, we're going. Lead the way."  
"I haven't even told you what it is yet, lass, and don't you want to say goodbye to your parents?"  
"You can tell me on the way, and no, I don't." She looked sadly towards the campsite "There's been enough goodbyes in this family already".

"Well you might think that's alright but you're not the one who's going to have to explain why you're dead after going off into the forest with a renowned pirate."  
"I'm sure you'll think of something, you'll have long enough journey to think of it, won't you?" And she started walking past him. With a shrug and a sigh he said "wrong way Swan, the sexton's up this hill here", and he watched her with a self-satisfied smirk on his face as she had to turn around and start following him for a change.


	2. Chapter 2

As they trudged up the hill, he could hear her heavy panting behind him. "Right, we're stopping here" he said, halting at a small clearing.  
"What?! No we're not, we need to get that sexton you were telling me about, we need to get it and save Henry!"  
"No we don't lass, **you** need to take a rest, or **we** will never see Henry again." He could see that familiar defiant look in her eye, it was one he recognised from a lifetime ago, when Milah was still alive. "Bloody hell lass, do you want to see your son again or not?"  
"What kind of question is that, Hook? Of course I want to see him again! That's my most heartfelt desire! But Pan made sure that wouldn't happen again didn't he?" She slumped down against the nearest tree. She hung her head low and it looked to Killian that she might be crying. "I miss him Killian, I have to save him. I, I can't let him become one of them, I can't let him be an orphan". Killian's face softened as he realised what she was going through, the heartbreak and the sorrow she felt, took a few steps towards her, knelt, and picked her up.  
"What are you doing?!" She looked at him, bewildered. "Put me down!"  
"Look love, climbing this hill is bringing your heart rate up, and spreading the poison faster. Let me carry you, and you'll last longer." He looked her in the eye, before starting the ascent once more.

Emma felt conflicted, but she was too tired to care that his arms were tucked under her knees and back, holding her close to him. She was too tired to care that her arm was draped around his neck, and that her head was resting just above his heart, and that with every step he took, she could hear it pounding.  
Killian was too distressed to notice these things, though at another time he'd have found some witty remark to make about a threshold and a wedding night. Concern gripped him, as Emma's arm started to hang looser around his neck, and her weight started to feel all to close like that of a dead weight. "Swan?" he whispered, laying her gently on the ground before him. She was almost asleep but she managed to give a quiet groan of acknowledgement.  
"We're here, I'm going to get the sexton, stay put, okay?"  
"Mmhmm."  
"Emma, I need you to promise me you won't go anywhere. Say it."  
"Hook, I'm too sick, and too tired to go anywhere without a wheelchair and 5 cups of coffee." She opened her eyes and saw him glaring at her. "Fine. If it'll make you happy, I promise not to go anywhere. Though I do _not_ make any promises about still being alive when you get back" and she closed her eyes to get some rest. As he turned to leave he heard her drowsy voice behind him. "Hook, don't let him.. don't let him become an orphan, okay? Tell Regina.. Tell Henry.. I love him"she mumbled before succumbing to sleep.

Hook turned away from her and walked around the corner, where the sound of a rushing waterfall could be heard. "And so the adventure begins" he said to himself. He tied up his shirt and pulled some cloth over his face. To get to the waterfall he'd have to cut through a wall of dreamshade first, a prospect he had not been looking forward to. It was dangerous and hard work, but he got through eventually, drank the last of his water in the canteen and filled it up again.

Emma woke up to Killian's soft touch. He was stroking her hair and, what was that, cooing? "What is it Jones? Do you have the sexton? Are we there yet?"  
"No lass, I don't have the sexton." Emma sat up quickly, and immediately regretted it as her head started spinning.  
"What do you mean you don't have the sexton? You said you were going to get it? Did Pan get it first?"  
"No lass, I," he looked away from her, unable to say the words and look her in the eyes at the same time. "I lied to you"  
"You what?!" Her sharp tone roused his own anger, and he brought his eyes to hers once more. The betrayal he saw there hurt him to the core. "So there isn't a way to get off the island afterall? You brought me up here on a fool's errand? And now I'm going to die here, with only you for company?" He winced as she said it, but his retort sounded more like that of a desperate man than a hurt man.  
"Emma, you don't have to die here!"  
"But there's no antidote for dreamshade, and in case you've forgotten, I've been poisoned with it!" She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry bitterly, the situation was so unfair. She came here to rescue her son, and yet here she was, laying on the ground almost dead because some lost boy got a lucky shot in.  
"I didn't lie to you about that, there's no cure for dreamshade, but the water on this island is magical and it cures any ailment." She sat back up again, this time careful to not do it so fast "but as with all magic, it comes with a price."  
"I don't care, I'll take it."  
He smiled, "you haven't even heard the cost yet Swan."  
"I don't care, anything to save my son from becoming one of them"  
"Lass, you may save your son, but if you drink this water, you'll never leave this island again." He could see that she still didn't care. "You'll die if you leave, Swan. Is that a price you're willing to pay?" He said it softly, watching her face carefully for any sign of fear or indecision.  
"Yes. If I can have this and then save my son.. I'll do it." And so he handed her the canteen, watched as she savoured every last drop of that water, watched the life return to her cheeks, and knew that her life was now tied to the island.


	3. Chapter 3

She'd been storming her way down the hill for some time, acknowledging his correcting her direction with a few shallow grunts. God she was a stubborn lass.  
"So, are we going to talk about it?"  
"What is there to talk about?"  
"Oh, I dunno, how I saved your life, in so doing risking my own, all so you could live and save the life of your son?" As they reached a clearing she spun around to face him.  
"Oh, how could I ever hope to repay such a debt? I'll just have to hope you almost die and I'm there to save you." She turned away from him, but he reached out and stopped her from leaving again. While he freely admitted that he didn't mind watching her walk away from him, the sight was getting a bit tiresome.  
"Well, I don't know about you lass, but I can certainly think of something" and as she looked back at him she saw that beneath his dark lashes his eyes seemed brighter, as his dipped head beckoned her closer, his whole demeanor was a challenge. A challenge she would meet.  
"Please" she said as she stepped closer, "you couldn't handle it."  
"On the contrary love" he took the final step towards her that brought him within arms reach of her to him "I think it is you who couldn't handle it".

Maybe it was the husky voice he used as he said it, maybe it'd had simply been too long, but Emma couldn't stop herself from grabbing the lapels of his coat and pulling him as close to her as possible, pressing her lips against his as she did so. It took him all of a millisecond to respond in kind and take his hand from his side and run it up her side, to her silky hair. Every fibre of his being was responding, his hook-arm pulled her even closer still, his hand tilting her head, even as she held him fast against her. Then all of a sudden, it was over. She pulled herself away, and, still holding his coat she told him it was a one time thing, and walked away. He hadn't had a chance to think about any of it, he certainly hadn't expected her to actually kiss him, nor did he think it'd affect him half as much as it did. What he was feeling he hadn't.. He hadn't felt it since Milah. He gazed at the break in the trees Emma had disappeared into. What was happening to him?"Bloody hell" he muttered as he hit his palm against the tree he was standing by. "Swan! Wait for me!"

She sauntered away from him, trying her best not to show any sign of, well, anything in front of him. She couldn't explain this feeling.. She was, to say the least, off-kilter. It must've been because it'd been a while. It must be. She thought of the men who'd previously been in her life, which led her to thinking about Henry, and, just like that, she put it out of her head. "Henry" she stopped where she was and made a promise to herself, and to him. "I'm coming for you kiddo". From a distance she heard Killian mutter something then call out to her. "Hurry up!" she yelled back with a enjoyed leading this walk. She knew she didn't know where she was going but she could tell that keeping up the rear frustrated Hook somewhat, so she stayed ahead. "We've got ground to make up!" And she continued on her merry way.


End file.
